The “extremely important idea” Ron Howard took from Russell Crowe
After establishing himself as a young actor in The Andy Griffith Show and Happy Days, Ron Howard was granted his lifelong wish of becoming a movie director. In fact, Howard had largely seen his first profession in the film industry as the perfect way to get into the director’s chair, which he always knew was his true calling in life.
What followed was a remarkable career in the director’s chair, and Howard became known as a reliable director who gets the job done, even on tricky productions. The likes of Apollo 13, Splash, Backdraft, Frost/Nixon and The Da Vinci Code have all arrived as a result of Howard’s talent, showing his widespread versatility as a filmmaker.
Naturally, Howard has been afforded the opportunity to work with some of the greatest actors of all time, including Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon and, of course, Russell Crowe. After all, it’s Crowe who has given some of his most memorable performances in movies for Howard, such as those in A Beautiful Mind and Cinderella Man.
When A Beautiful Mind arrived in 2001, widespread acclaim was directed at Howard, who proceeded to win the Academy Award for ‘Best Director’, while the film itself won ‘Best Picture’, as well as further awards for ‘Best Adapted Screenplay’ and ‘Best Supporting Actress’ for Jennifer Connelly. Howard was grateful to Crowe, who played an important role in the production style of A Beautiful Mind, as well as giving a brilliant performance in it.
In an interview with the BBC, Howard was asked about the moment that Crowe asked his director to shoot the film in chronological order, which Howard admitted “turned out to be an extremely important idea”. Howard said that he’d already had “a couple of experiences” in which he’d shot chronologically, “as an actor in American Graffiti and as a director on Apollo 13“, which was considered to be “really valuable”.
Howard admitted that it seemed like shooting A Beautiful Mind was going to be “impractical from a logistical standpoint”, but Russell, who played the mathematician John Nash in the film, felt that there was something to be said for the production method. After all, the film was mostly focused on one person, so Crowe felt that a chronological shoot would be best for showing his personal development and allowing him to get more into the nuances of his character.
Howard explained: “Then, in an email, Russell said, ‘You keep saying it’s a performance-driven movie; how better to ensure that than to shoot in chronological order?’ He was right, of course, because not only are there all the physical changes but also all the emotional and psychological changes as well.”
The result was that A Beautiful Mind became a standout moment in the respective careers of both Crowe and Howard. Throughout his career up to that point, Howard had established himself as a director who simply got the job done, but when it came to his 2001 effort, he was revealed as a filmmaker who trusts his actors, which is the sign of a great cinematic artist.
In addition, Russell Crowe was shown to be an actor who understood the nuances of film production and, most importantly, the best way to tell a narrative, something that was vastly shown in the brilliant critical and commercial reception of the film.
